Fathers who cuddle develop a stronger bond with babies
HANDS-ON fathers who cuddle and play with babies early in life develop a stronger bond with them, experts say.
Hormones that are crucial in developing a mother-child bond are also present in men, researchers have discovered.
Oxytocin, known as the ‘cuddle hormone’, increases empathy and motivation to care and helps synchronise a father’s emotions with those of his children.
The hormone is released by mothers while they breastfeed and cuddle their babies. But experts now realise it surges in fathers as they hold their children or play with them.
The study, by Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, raises the possibility that oxytocin could be artificially given to fathers who are failing to bond with their children. It is available in a simple nasal spray. Earlier this week a separate study suggested that at least 30,000 British fathers suffer from depression following the birth of a child.
One of the causes of post-natal depression, never been previously recognised in men, is thought to be a failure to bond.
‘Our findings add to the evidence that fathers, and not just mothers, undergo hormonal changes likely to facilitate increased empathy and motivation to care for their children,’ said study leader James Rilling.
‘I’m interested in understanding why some fathers are more involved in caregiving than others. In order to fully understand variation in care-giving behaviour, we need a clear picture of the neurobiology and neural mechanisms that support the behaviour.’
His team’s study found fathers dosed with oxytocin showed a stronger emotional response to photos of their baby.
Researchers scanned the brains of 30 fathers while showing them pictures of their own baby, of a child they did not know and of an adult they did not know.
When viewing an image of their offspring, participants dosed with oxytocin showed significantly increased neural activity in brain systems associated with reward and empathy.
The study is published in the Hormones and Behaviour medical journal.